Field
An embodiment of the invention relates to a device for examining the quality of diamonds as commonly necessary in the jewelry industry.
Commercial diamond testers detect real diamonds among their imitations, like moissanites or cubic zirconia, by measuring thermal and electrical conductivities of the gem. It is desirable to be able to verify operation of such tester on regular basis, say every day before using it. Such procedure requires having samples of gems, like a diamond, a few moissanites, and other gems and crystals. All these may cost a sizeable sum of money (cost of high quality carbides while less than that of diamonds still significant). Even if it is a justifiable expense, it may not be desirable to entrust such value to personnel working with inexpensive testers. The carbides are not a perfect standard for verifying functionality of a tester because their electrical resistance can vary significantly from one test to another, sometimes by an order of magnitude. Also, they can be sensitive to ambient light, which may reduce electrical resistance significantly. Besides, all necessary gems may simply not be at hand. A master set of inexpensive substitutes, which exhibit the combination of thermal and electrical conductivity typical for diamonds and their popular imitations would be useful, and could accompany each tester without substantially increasing the cost of the tester, thus alleviating the need for reference gems.